Finger pointed at tenders for Limpopo woes

2012-01-19 16:20

Johannesburg - Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi on Thursday said the modification of existing contracts to push up tender values and consultancy fees contributed to the financial crisis in Limpopo Province.

"A security contract of R1.8m a month - and I am not saying a year - a month - was extended without proper procedures from 2010," Nxesi said at a briefing where cabinet ministers were giving an update after the province was placed under administration in December.

He said supply chain violations, tenders awarded without proper processes and no asset management were also found.

"We cannot run government like this," he said.

The Cabinet put the province under administration after it emerged that Limpopo was bankrupt and could not pay civil servants, such as teachers and nurses.

At the briefing, ministers pointed to pointed to tender irregularities, supply chain management issues, and lack of contract management systems as key reasons for the provinces bankruptcy.

The province now faces a potential shortfall of R2bn at the end of the financial year, according to the finance ministry.

"Why has this situation come about in Limpopo? The province has large, accumulated unauthorised expenditure which has grown from R1.5bn in 2009 to R2.7bn 2011," the ministry said in a statement.

The team found that, in the health department:

- the province owed suppliers R138m, but only half these payments, R67m, could be verified and approved for payment by December 23;

- R427m in assets had no supporting documents;

- there was R400m in irregular expenditure of goods and services, mostly medical equipment.

Education Minister Angie Motshekga said that in the province's education department there was no supply chain management, with the department not ordering pupil support material on time.

It accumulated unauthorised expenditure of R2.2bn and there was a R190m accrual of "stale debt" - money owed.

At least 200 "ghost" teachers were paid and there were 2 400 excess teachers in the province.

Certain schools had not got the money they needed in 2011 for basics such as electricity and photocopying.

Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi said the modification of existing contracts to push up tender values and consultancy fees contributed to the financial crisis,

"A security contract of R1.8m a month - and I am not saying a year - a month - was extended without proper procedures from 2010," Nxesi said at the briefing.

Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele said there was no contract management system in place in the province's transport department.

There was also no oversight of the Limpopo Roads Agency.

Public Service Minister Roy Padayachee said the security of the public service was critical. If public servants were not paid, public services could not be delivered.

On November 22, it was discovered that Polokwane could not pay its civil servants

"The Cabinet put the province under administration after it emerged that Limpopo was bankrupt and could not pay civil servants, such as teachers and nurses" - Let Julius feed them!

Wesley - 2012-01-19 18:12

Don't worry Juju is in the top structures. He will sort them out (0 - o) hehe

Tgif - 2012-01-20 09:16

Finally, a word recently coined to describe our current political situation.
Ineptocracy(in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers!
Kinda sums it all up hey?

Ian - 2012-01-19 16:27

And will the offenders be prosecuted? I doubt that the ANC has the will.

Sean - 2012-01-19 17:21

Comrades will only get a slap on the wrist , apartheids fault ! FFS !

Mike - 2012-01-19 17:24

"Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele said there was no contract management system in place in the province's transport department."
Isn't the transport department where Malemmer has his finger in the pie?

Mark - 2012-01-19 16:30

If the Limpopo Administration had been in good political standing with National Government, would all this maladministration have been exposed in this way? Just asking

Max - 2012-01-19 17:58

You hit the nail on the head, the answer is no, the same thing is happening in every single Government department also in National departments, just wait there are a few big bombs that are going to blow in the very near future especially in the IT environment.

Paulo - 2012-01-19 16:30

ja typical "it's always someone elses fault" but when its to celebrating then it's all good. viva ANC viva

Mzamo - 2012-01-19 16:31

We shouldn't worry about those public servants, they have already paid themselves!!! If not, where did the money go to??

Wendy - 2012-01-19 16:32

This is obviously intended to distance one section of the ANC from Malema - who has controlled the awarding of tenders. Methinks we see an almighty split coming!

richard.hipkin - 2012-01-19 16:33

Put the DA in charge, simple.

sandy.langenstrass - 2012-01-19 18:51

Totally agree with Pointblank..Because this is our first wakeup call...Limpopo...this is the perfect example to understand what lies ahead for the other 8 provinces... it's scary.. it's like watching flood waters rising and consumming everything in it's path. Our last chance ... is for the majoriy of our people(what ever race)to wake up and stand together in the next elections.. WE need to rid our land of these corrupt and unqualified people that are running this counrty.. they must go now..

Graziella - 2012-01-19 19:07

The DA needs to campaign first, there are no free votes.

Sean - 2012-01-19 23:09

@Graziella- ``NO FREE VOTES`` LOL ! The masses do not understand , will not and can not !! It`s a win win for the ANC , but the downfall of South Africa !

normanmt - 2012-01-20 06:53

Ffs just give the province to Zimbabwe

Archie - 2012-01-20 08:27

All this is happening in the ANC centenary year.DA should be involved in the forensic audit that way the truth will out!

Ubhejane - 2012-01-20 09:52

The DA must first come to terms with the reality that SA is and its very recent history that includes the proactive oppression of the country's majority and come up with ways to reverse that just like the US for example did in a different context for it to be taken seriously. Otherwise they (DA) can go swim and you whities can stop pretending as if the NP government was holier than though!!

Mzamo - 2012-01-19 16:34

Didn't I hear Malema's company was the one overseeing the tenders there? So go to him, let him answer!! He must be accountable!! Im sure this is how S A will be should he become a President (as I can see his ambitions)!! Probably this is why he was praising Mugabe!!!

Wayne - 2012-01-19 16:45

you hit the nail on the head my friend. lets watch this space.

goyougoodthing - 2012-01-19 16:38

Limpopo equals Malema = fraud and corruption

Lauren - 2012-01-19 16:38

conduct the audit, determine the 'irregularities', hold people accountable, and take necessary action. it is a very simple process. those who are responsible for any injustices and/or acts of corruption should be dealt with accordingly. no cover-ups please!

Ben - 2012-01-19 18:00

And all the money recovered please.

MastersVoice - 2012-01-19 16:41

So there are two ANC's out there? A good ANC, and a bad ANC? Whenever the governing ANC is exposed as incompetent and corrupt, they start talking about themselves in the third person. Perhaps they are just focusing their attention on Limpopo because its where the anti-Zuma faction is most vocal?

Wayne - 2012-01-19 16:43

I wonder who is going to get fired for this?

sandy.langenstrass - 2012-01-20 09:02

The way the ANC opperate..NO ONE will get fired...they might be taken to court...found not guilt... and the ANC will use tax payers money to pay all the legal costs. This without a doubt turning into a BANANA REPUBLIC.

MarkH - 2012-01-19 16:50

Now isn't that a surprise, after all isn't limpopo where comrade Julius is based and does all his "business", or is this just another ANC-sponsored witch hunt?
I'm sure you can understand my confusion as the ANC have now managed to so closely link the economy to the politics of the country that with cadres running everything where does one end and the other begin?
Simple solution - bring in independent auditors, professional bodies and ratepayers associations and audit the whole damn lot as it's time to relegate this struggle accounting to the history books and clean the place up. Going to have to happen sometime........

Nosiphom - 2012-01-19 16:51

How to distribute Taxpayers money 101: You have a supply chain function in a provintial department responsible for awarding tenders and managing the projects. The officials decide to award a tender to Jujus company to do the work for which they are paid. Jujus company of cause awards inflated tenders to sister companies and the governement pays three times what it should pay.

Peter - 2012-01-19 16:53

lol, its like the incompetent, calling the incompetent......incompetent.
morons

gigalution - 2012-01-19 16:53

oky now what?_

sandy.langenstrass - 2012-01-20 12:32

My freind..if you read all these post... most are from concerned South Africans, most are educated...and can see what is happening to the land they love...their wish is that all understand the threat...and help to rid our beautiful counrty of this ANC, who started off well... but sadly lost it soon after.

ISO - 2012-01-19 16:54

Ja well, same old story year after year and nothing is being done about it....no measure in place, no action being taken, no nothing! This government seriously lakes compentency and ability to run the country. Wake-up people who voted for this government these so called leaders are taking you and the rest of the country for fools!

Sharp - 2012-01-19 17:13

Yip seems true, the government seems quite capable to point out irregularities and corruption. Yet despite being exposed you see the same ministers/ public workers in the same positions as before (unless they break away from the 'political agenda'). If the government were serious about fighting corruption and incompetency, they'd probe investigations and punish corrupt officials properly and fire incompetant public workers.
I get the feeling that the government don't want to tackle corruption and incompetency.

mathetem - 2012-01-19 17:09

duh... where do you think TENDER PARK came from?

Thompho Muhanganei - 2012-01-19 17:57

that place is nice though

Heinrich - 2012-01-19 20:30

Love me Tender
Tenderized Stakeholder
Fire Tender. Please.

ISO - 2012-01-19 21:59

@Thompho it surely is a nice and beautifull place, just a pitty they making a bustbin of it!

Sinudeity - 2012-01-19 17:09

Julius and the premier f***ed up the province nicely.
Limpopo will be begging for the DA to take over.

Nyiks11 - 2012-01-20 10:00

not before they've explored the option to relocate the Beit Bridge border post to somewhere around Hammanskraal

Chaapo - 2012-01-19 17:16

Any province where the likes of Malema are top dogs is bound to have this level of corruption. The level of rhetoric is matched by the level of corruption; the former meant to detract from what is going on under the sheepish electorate's collective nose as they are being sucked in by the cheap populist politicking.

Bielie - 2012-01-19 17:29

In a normal business, the boss gets paid last. Start the payroll run by paying the lowest earners first and then working up to the premier who should be paid when everyone else has been paid. Probably won't happen because the big earners have scaled the cash anyway.

Clarence - 2012-01-19 17:30

Maybe it could be a great idea if they can just have the corruption budget, say 1bn(I know someone in Government must be thinking, what the FFF are we gona do with 1bn). So how this works is that money allocated for Education or Public works is ONLY spent on those services and nothing else. If they feel they need something on the side, they just take from the Corruption budget. This will allow this people to focus on service delivery and will give us a better view of the finances and more control.

sandy.langenstrass - 2012-01-21 08:32

Clarence...why do they need a corruption budget? they earn massive salaries. Our counrty has slipped so far behind in service deliveries... they need every single cent to build it back to where it was. BAD..BAD.IDEA.. YOU ARE JOKING.

Chris - 2012-01-19 17:31

malema jou moerskhond!!

WPJPretorius - 2012-01-19 17:34

1 down 8 to go!!! Well done ANC!

Clarence - 2012-01-19 17:36

Only an Earth quake can solve corruption in this country.

Nyiko Ngobeni - 2012-01-19 18:19

The worring and disgusting part is: nothing will be done against the robbers. Like in other provinces they just get away with it

appietrader - 2012-01-20 07:31

Why all the complaints??? Who voted these thieves in?? Don't blame the thieves they got a licence from the electorate to steal. After all the HO HA these same thieves will get promotions and carry on stealing, that is the governing parties way!!

marina.poniatowska - 2012-01-19 18:46

Maybe the implementation of the Info bill will be a good thing. Reading things like this is on a daily basis is really depressing. It's just plain depressing.

Sinudeity - 2012-01-19 18:51

We dont need an info bill. We need a protection from corrupt cadre bill.

sandy.langenstrass - 2012-01-19 21:47

oh my..how much worse will it be if they do bring in the info bill. But I Suppose till then you can always bury your head in the sand if you don't like hearing the truth of the party you voted for.. time to see what we say is the truth.

Larry - 2012-01-19 19:01

A better explanation is that the province is run by a bunch of Crooked imcompetents.

Vince.York - 2012-01-19 19:01

Basket Case in the Animal Farm - these quasi zanu-pf limpoopol cadres. But not surprising when no-one can add 1+1

Graziella - 2012-01-19 19:15

The tribal way for thousands of years has been that the Chiefs live on the backs of the rest of the tribe, that service exists only to the family and not the community and that any service rendered to the community must be rewarded with a bribe.

Klaus - 2012-01-20 01:05

Not in those tribes where i come from. Girl, you look quit beautiful and intelligent, where do you get this stuff from?

Jennifer - 2012-01-20 08:40

The people aren't surviving
at least they used to have water back in the day
not anymore, and the ANC isn't sharing.
Time for a change

Siyabonga Came - 2012-01-19 19:17

I knew it. Julius Malema is rich, how possible is dat in a self-claimed Economic Freedom fighter?

Tshivhombela Fhatuwani - 2012-01-19 19:21

We do understand all your explanations and statistics but who will be held accountable? A lot of these has been said and no disciplinary measures have been taken. If the CEO of the province, Mathale is still running the province as an island, poverty will continue to ravage Limpopo. It is not a secret that Malema and Mathale are conniving to enrich themselves and their cronies. Phosa's criticism of ANC's disciplinary measures against Malema and the curatorship of Limpopo by the national government shows how legal corruption is within the ranks of the ruling party. In Limpopo, corruption and tenders for friends are not the only problems but the quality of work is very poor. The tarred streets are constructed today and tomorrow they are repaired. In Skhukhune and Vhembe where the biggest dams in the province are located, people don't have water. The bulk water projects are stalled by the incompetence of the ANC tenderpreneurs. Limpopo, what next?

Tshivhombela Fhatuwani - 2012-01-19 19:21

We do understand all your explanations and statistics but who will be held accountable? A lot of these has been said and no disciplinary measures have been taken. If the CEO of the province, Mathale is still running the province as an island, poverty will continue to ravage Limpopo. It is not a secret that Malema and Mathale are conniving to enrich themselves and their cronies. Phosa's criticism of ANC's disciplinary measures against Malema and the curatorship of Limpopo by the national government shows how legal corruption is within the ranks of the ruling party. In Limpopo, corruption and tenders for friends are not the only problems but the quality of work is very poor. The tarred streets are constructed today and tomorrow they are repaired. In Skhukhune and Vhembe where the biggest dams in the province are located, people don't have water. The bulk water projects are stalled by the incompetence of the ANC tenderpreneurs. Limpopo, what next?

Tshivhombela Fhatuwani - 2012-01-19 19:36

The strategy that the ANC uses in Limpopo was also used by apartheid government. You pamper the chiefs, you get the votes from the poor and illiterate. The chiefs and kings are bought nice Isuzu double cabs and also receive monthly allowances for nothing. In many areas in Limpopo, traditional leaders still have the power to award business stands and ANC leaders in the province get them easily. Over the weekends they summon their subjects and invite ANC councillors to brainwash them and feed them with empty promises.

Chappies ZA - 2012-01-19 20:27

And the award goes to??????

Johnson - 2012-01-19 21:04

It took Zimbabwe 365 Month to totally bankrupt and Limpopo 120 Months - Eastern Cape to Follow, North West and Mphumalanga - Nobody is taking corruption serious and nobody believes that the whole country can go bankrupt. This is the first lesson - corruption does not pay in the long run. Procurement must be open and transparent

Johnson - 2012-01-19 21:14

It took Zimbabwe 365 Month to totally bankrupt and Limpopo 120 Months - Eastern Cape to Follow, North West and Mphumalanga - Nobody is taking corruption serious and nobody believes that the whole country can go bankrupt. This is the first lesson - corruption does not pay in the long run. Procurement must be open and transparent

Graziella - 2012-01-19 21:17

Corruption is ballooning because whistleblowing is impossible without severe career implications. Corruption also manifests itself in nepotism and favouritism in giving people jobs in the bureaucracy.
This causes inefficiency. The two things cannot be divorced.
Remember Lord Acton. If they seek absolute power they wil get absolute corruption. Ultimately they desire the destruction of our country though they are too deluded to notice this.
Without South Africans of all descriptions watching out for the undeniable creep of corruption the land is lost.

Klaus - 2012-01-20 01:09

That's better :-)) Well said!

braamc - 2012-01-19 21:41

Thieves, born thieves

Ronald - 2012-01-19 23:13

What do the majority of voters expect after handing the ANC the keys to the communal safe, catch them repeatedly at lining the pockets of anybody remotely connected to the ANC and then telling the ANC that they can keep the keys until Jesus comes? What do the peaceful demonstrations help when you keep on voting for them, directly indicating that you have no problem with them stealing your children's inheritance? It is like telling a child that you will discipline him for a transgression, but then buying him a sweet, apologising to him for hurting his feelings and that it is all ok because he is your child. That is how you breed bullies, criminals and despots. What do you expect the ANC to become if you, as their loyal supporter, cannot control your unruly child any more?

SarelJBotha - 2012-01-20 08:08

Whow, now let's see if those criminals wll be charged and sent to jail.

Jennifer - 2012-01-20 08:34

All that money could have paid for teachers, nurses, medicines and TOILETS! and they spent it, perhaps on your behalf,
their thoughts may have been with you as the champagne, caviar, lobster, steak and whiskey touched their lips... but probably not.
STOP VOTING FOR THEM!
Blerry Agents!

Jason - 2012-01-20 08:47

Ja, you c*nts in the ANC sure know how to run this Country.... straight into the effing ground, well done, bells all round!!

Tgif - 2012-01-20 09:15

Finally, a word recently coined to describe our current political situation.
Ineptocracy(in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers!
Kinda sums it all up hey?

Winifred - 2012-01-20 15:43

Put incompetant people in jobs, they dont have any accountability to anybody but themselves and this is what happens. Why did it take from 2009 up to the present to sort the province out. Where is the annual audit. Surely, that alone should have rung a loud bell. Think the auditors need to be jailed along with the other perpetraters responsible from bringing a province such as Limpopo into such a DISGUSTING DEGRACE. We have been hearing rumblings about over spending, service delivery just to mention two which is only a tip of the iceberg about the problems in this province for so long and yet its only taken the ANC by surprise NOW.